Many modern vehicles are fitted with systems (anti-lock braking, adjustable ride height etc.) designed to improve the riding experience of the users. The riding experience could be a measure of, for example, comfort or vehicle composure, and the setup of the systems of a vehicle to optimise the riding experience may be dependent on the type of terrain over which the vehicle travels. Current systems with defined system settings for a plurality of different terrain types can be manually set to a terrain type by a user, or may use sensors to determine characteristics about the terrain over which a vehicle is travelling, and then select the most appropriate setting. However, the determination of a terrain type by examining vehicle parameters using on-board systems is a reactive solution to the terrain over which the vehicle is currently travelling and as such does not allow the vehicle to prepare in advance for the terrain over which it is about to travel without user-input.
One object of the present invention is to provide a system for use in a vehicle that is able to determine certain characteristics relating to the terrain ahead of a vehicle addressing the disadvantages of the systems in the prior art.